PRINCIPALS REPORT


CONNECT – JUNE JULY 2025
PRINCIPALS REPORT
At the end of a very busy Term 2 I would like to thank all the students and staff for their contributions throughout the Term. In particular, we have been working hard to progress our work on celebrating and acknowledging diversity and inclusion within our school and community.
At Greenvale Secondary College we value the diversity of gender, sexuality, culture, ethnicity, and faith of all our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at our school. This work is one of the key focus areas of our current Strategic Plan and an area we are beginning to work more on in 2025.
Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and more innovative. We are committed to making sure that students – regardless of their gender, sexuality or background feel accepted, supported and able to learn.
Currently, we teach all students according to our school values and teach the respectful relationships framework. This includes education around diversity and inclusion.
To achieve our values and aims, everyone at Greenvale Secondary College plays an important role. This semester, we have reminded students of our values and the importance of using these in everything we do.
To help us make our school a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported, we encourage parents and families to also speak to your child about these values, as well as the importance of:
- understanding that we celebrate diversity and inclusion which includes culture, sexuality and gender
- understanding the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect.
For more information, please see Racism: talking with children and teens, Raising Children Network.
RESTORATIVE PRACTICE PILOT
As we continue the implementation of our Positive Learning Framework, the College has partnered with Jesuit Social Services and the Department of Justice and Community Safety in a program that over the next 3 years will train our staff in Restorative Practices. This researched approach is proven to reduce repeat offences that can often lead to young people being in the Youth Justice System.
The work is a set of strategies that focus on repairing harm and building relationships after an incident, rather than solely focusing on punishment. They aim to foster a sense of responsibility, accountability and reconciliation among individuals involved.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR SCHOOLS AND RUBRICS
The work our staff and students do is now being noticed well beyond the school gate! The College recently hosted teams from 8 of the local secondary schools to deliver professional learning in the use of developmental rubrics and assessment practices to promote learning growth. It is great that our school and staff are being recognised for their work in this space and as per our vision for the school – we are staying at the forefront of education. Our community can be proud of this work!
PRIMARY SCHOOL TRANSITION
It is that time of year where we have been working with our local primary schools to manage the 2026 intake of year 7. Like previous years, the College has received significantly more enrolment requests than we can offer placement to. We look forward to welcoming our new families across the remainder of this year.
SEMESTER 1 REPORTS
Semester Reports for all students will be published in the final week of Term 2 on Compass. Parents will receive a notification when your child’s reports are ready to be viewed. All parents/guardians are encouraged to contact their child’s relevant Mentor Teacher with any follow up questions or concerns.
Please take the time to discuss this report with your child and celebrate their learning. We are proud of their achievements and hope you are too!
STAFF AND STUDENT ILLNESS
Like many workplaces and schools, we have recently experienced higher than normal absences due to illness and COVID19. The College will continue to support all members of our community during this period and appreciate the support and understanding our families have as we work to ensure that learning is not interrupted.
UPDATE ON SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION PROCEDURES
Our school is committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all students and staff. You may be aware of recent changes announced to suspension and expulsion powers that will be available to Victorian principals from day one of Term 3, (Monday 21 July 2025).
We know that students’ behaviour outside of school, particularly online, can sometimes impact the safety of students and staff at school.
In exceptional circumstances, principals of Victorian government schools will be able suspend or expel students for behaviour that occurs outside of school grounds and/or hours including online, if it poses a significant danger to the safety and wellbeing of students or staff.
These powers apply only to serious incidents where there is a clear and close connection to the school and the behaviour of a student outside of school unreasonably impacts the safety and wellbeing of students or staff at school, and their ability to learn or work. Please note:
- They do not apply to behaviours unrelated to the school or school community.
- They only apply to behaviour which occurs from Monday 21 July 2025 onwards.
Suspension and expulsion will remain measures of last resort – our primary approach continues to focus on proactive and positive behaviour support, including working with you to teach students the behaviours we expect of them, in school and in life.
Thank you for your continued support as we work in partnership to educate and support our young people.
SUPPORT USING COMPASS
Thank you to all of our families for their connection and engagement with learning at Greenvale Secondary College. In our continued efforts I wanted to raise awareness of the assistance available to access and navigate Compass.
It is important that all families are regularly logging in, reading notifications and celebrating the learning growth of their child. Sometimes we recognise that navigating or accessing technology may require a little support, so recommend that families:
- Drop into the Administration Office and ask for assistance
- Check out the online Parent and Family Guide for Compass
- Login to Compass or our Website and view the help guides under School Documentation